Inherit <\/strong>the Word<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> Not long after I\u2019d moved to Oxford in 2010, I visited the Dollar Tree store that\u2019s in the same mall as Walmart and Goodwill. The moment I passed through the threshold, Patricia (\u201cTrisha\u201d) Pratt, a formidable but warm and friendly woman who worked there, shouted out, \u201cHere comes Mr. New York!\u201d I was dressed similarly (sans shotgun) to the photo in the banner<\/a> atop this essay. I hadn\u2019t said a word, so my accent didn\u2019t give me away. As with Paula knowing I hadn\u2019t clapped for Tinkerbell<\/a>, how<\/em> did Trisha know I was from NYC? (Obviously, I do<\/em> give off a certain vibe.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I soon learned from her, Trisha hadn\u2019t gone to college, but she had gone to prison. So, she\u2019s smart about stuff that actually matters. She\u2019d lived in 5 or 6 other locales before moving to Oxford. All the rest were unsatisfactory in one way or another. For example, in Chicago she\u2019d felt unsafe. In Ann Arbor, the places she could afford were the size of rabbit huts. Here in the county, she had an entire home. She felt like drawing a smiley face on her monthly rent check of $400. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trisha and I became fast friends. I saw her recently at Walmart. As always, she gave me a big hug. (I was happy to socially un<\/em>-distance for the occasion.) She\u2019s currently working for Aramark in the Ole Miss Student Union. She tells me, \u201cI am secure in my job. They love me, and I love them and the students I have met.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t always this way. Earlier in life, Trisha was imprisoned because of her involvement with drugs. In her words, \u201cI spent my time behind bars like most addicts, counting the days till I could get high again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While in prison, she was diagnosed with, and treated for, cervical cancer. Fortunately, the surgery she underwent has left her cancer-free ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After Trisha\u2019s release, she lived for awhile with her sister, who had moved to Oxford to help her get back on her feet. But once her sister returned to Jackson, Trisha\u2019s own children refused to have anything to do with her, or allow her contact with her grandchildren \u2014 because they could tell she was still using drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However before her sister left, she changed Trisha\u2019s life forever by insisting to all 3 generations living under her roof at the time: \u201cIf your job doesn\u2019t have you booked for Sunday morning, you\u2019re going to church!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The church was Spirit of Excellence<\/a>. In Trisha\u2019s words: \u201cI kid you not \u2014 when I stepped into the church, something<\/em> went through me, and I\u2019ve been there ever since!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though she didn\u2019t stop using drugs right away, she kept worshiping at Spirit of Excellence. Soon, a young woman at the church became her \u201cmentor\u201d. By now, Trisha was working at Dollar Tree. By day, her mentor called her while she was at work. By night, the mentor called Trisha at the place where she was renting a room. Finally, Trisha got sick and tired of being sick-and-tired, so she quit using. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once she was off drugs, Trisha started hearing the voice of Jesus telling her, \u201cGo <\/em>get your sisters \u2014 tell <\/em>your sisters …\u201d For a year she answered back, \u201cNo<\/em>, Jesus, I will not <\/em>go back into that living Hell!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n But after one long night of wrestling with her conscience, the next day she talked it through with her bishop, Kelvin Ransey. As of this coming Spring, it will be 9 years since she began bringing the message of Salvation through Christ to women in the Lafayette County Detention Center<\/a>. Of course, for a number of months visitors were kept out because of covid. But recently, visitation has been allowed again, and Trisha has resumed going there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a recent Sunday she intended to visit for 1 hour, but wound up staying for 3 (till closing time). She explained, \u201cWe started studying the Book of Matthew<\/a>. The ladies had lots of questions, and I love to fellowship with them. To see someone come alive through Jesus is such an amazing event! Although I\u2019ll say to myself, I\u2019m only going to stay 1 hour<\/em>, it seldom turns out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before she let Jesus into her life, Trisha was lost. Through her faith in the Bible as the literal Word of God, she now is found. In her own words, \u201cIsn’t God a wonder! God has restored the relationship between me and my children. And, I\u2019m now a full-time granny. In my past, I could never have imagined how God could turn my whole life around. I am a new creature!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trisha\u2019s not concerned with whether a rock is 4 thousand or 4 billion years old. What she cares about are her family, friends, and community \u2014 especially helping sisters who are still lost find their way back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Evangelical Christianity looks so different here in Mississippi than it does on the Broadway stage, or the Hollywood big screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In closing, I\u2019ll mention that there are many renderings of \u201cGive Me That Old Time Religion\u201d on the playlist I pre-recorded for the music box mounted on my bicycle. This one is my favorite<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.\u201d (CS Lewis) In my last column, I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18857],"tags":[19864,18843,6946,18844,4728,5,20289,4,20287,18930,20290,20288],"class_list":["post-116844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-billy-joe-russell","tag-aramark","tag-billy-joe-russell","tag-gaetano-catelli","tag-guy","tag-lafayette-county-detention-center","tag-mississippi","tag-ole-miss-student-union","tag-oxford","tag-patricia-pratt","tag-reynolds-russell","tag-spirit-of-excellence","tag-trisha-pratt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/PatriciaPratt.png?resize=252%2C252\")
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![the banner<\/a> atop this essay. I hadn\u2019t said a word, so my accent didn\u2019t give me away. As with Paula knowing I hadn\u2019t clapped for](\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/rgng7d57oehrywr\/logo.jpg?dl=0\"){kind=link}